"So—are you satisfied now, Uta?" Arton let out a breath, looking over at her with a faintly weak, worn-out expression.
"Hehe. How could I not be satisfied?" Uta said with a bright grin. "It's not every day I get to see Captain Arton looking like that."
Back when she used to spar with Arton, even with Tashigi helping, the one who ended up completely drained was always her, not him. Getting to see Arton looking genuinely winded was a scene Uta had been craving for ages.
And that was exactly why she'd helped Raki and Conis take the first steps toward joining the Blazing Blade Pirates.
She'd even noticed that Raki was taking forever to finish the "special maintenance," and—right into Arton's ear—suggested he… lower the threshold for what counted as finished.
Arton hadn't planned to indulge her. After all, she'd made a similar request before.
But then he glanced over at Conis—hands covering her cheeks, yet still peeking through her fingers—and at Raki, who'd been busy for so long her throat was clearly dry.
In the end, Arton made a decision.
And in front of Conis's wide, stunned eyes… he gave her a proper drink.
What Raki was grateful for was that she'd overheard Uta's suggestion too—so she'd had ti to brace herself and properly catch Arton's moves.
Of course, Arton's stamina was… absurd.
Raki still couldn't handle everything.
So of it slipped past her defenses and landed on her instead.
But she didn't make a big deal of it.
"Thank you for the hospitality, Captain Arton," Raki said, standing up as she wiped sweat from her forehead and the corner of her mouth with her forearm.
"I should be the one saying that," Arton replied with a wry look. "Seriously—thanks for the hard work."
Then he gave a thumbs-up toward both Raki and Conis. "And your pumpkin noodles were really good."
Even though things had veered wildly off-course, Arton hadn't forgotten to actually taste the special dish Raki and Conis had made together: pumpkin noodles.
Now that Raki finally stopped moving, Arton could properly savor the aftertaste.
He had to admit—Skypiea's pumpkin and noodles had their own unique charm.
The pumpkin, in particular, had less sweetness than he expected, but made up for it with a distinct, almost fragrant flavor.
"Um… the bathroom is that way," Conis said softly, pointing. "Arton-san… do you want to wash up?"
"Yeah." Arton nodded. "I should. I'll feel a lot cleaner after."
" too!" Uta raised her hand enthusiastically.
"…Sa," Raki added, casually wiping away the marks on her front, bringing her fingers to her lips, and swallowing as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"I-I'll go prepare hot water for everyone," Conis hurriedly said, and quickly slipped out.
As she walked, Conis couldn't help thinking she might need to wash up too.
Even if she'd only been standing there the whole ti… watching Raki like that had still affected her. She was human, after all.
Uta watched Conis's retreating back, her lips curling into a small smile.
As one of the strongest in the Blazing Blade Pirates, Uta could read people easily—and Conis was practically glowing with tells.
Hehe. The shy type—just like Kaya, Uta thought.
Those two will definitely get along, but even soone like Kaya… still fell eventually.
I can't wait to see Conis end up like that too.
"Sorry to keep you waiting—the bathroom's all yours now," Arton said as he stepped out, freshly washed, rubbing at his lower back like an old man. Behind him, Uta covered her mouth and giggled; with the kind of relationship she and Arton had, going into the bathroom together was basically a given.
"No problem, Captain Arton. We'll be right over," Raki said, nodding firmly.
"It's not that urgent—take your ti," Arton replied, waving to both Raki and Conis as he headed out.
Since he was about to hand the Serval template to Conis—and formally bring her in as the crew's newest mber—he needed to do it in front of everyone in the Fla Blade Pirates. Besides, Ain had already said she was curious what kind of power the Serval template actually held. Arton had felt guilty enough that he hadn't been able to give Ain a template right away; there was no way he was going to sideline her now and deny her the chance to see Serval's power firsthand.
"See you two on the ship," Uta called, waving brightly as she followed after Arton with a spring in her step. The mont she caught up, she hopped up onto his back in one smooth motion—soft weight pressing down in a way Arton registered instantly.
"Carry , Captain—please?" Uta asked with a sweet smile.
"Alright, alright," Arton chuckled indulgently, reaching back to steady her. "How could I say no to the number-one cutest diva?"
"Not just cute, though—right?" Uta teased, deliberately pressing down a little harder. "Am I not sexy too?"
Arton felt what was pinned against his back shift and give under the pressure, and he played along without missing a beat. "Of course you're not just cute, Uta."
Truth was, as a late-series figure in One Piece, Uta was… undeniably stacked compared to most. Characters like Nami and Robin—who'd been in the story forever—had gradually gotten more generous over ti, but smaller side characters like Raki and Conis hadn't gotten that kind of upgrade. Maybe that was why the real-life Raki had a figure that read a bit more modest by comparison—sothing Arton had already gotten an extrely hands-on appreciation for.
Of course, that was only modest next to soone like Uta. By normal standards, Raki was more than impressive. And honestly? Arton had liked it just fine.
Watching the two of them disappear down the way, Raki and Conis finally turned and went into the bathroom.
"Raki… you were incredible," Conis blurted, eyes shining. "My mind went totally blank. I didn't know what to do at all."
"I-I was just lucky," Raki said, drawing in a steadying breath.
Only she knew how hard it had been to make the decisions she'd made.
She was a warrior, sure—but maintaining the captain's weapon like that was not sothing she'd ever done before. She'd taken care of Shandian weapons plenty of tis, but those were completely different weapons, with completely different thods. If Uta hadn't kept slipping in those little reminders at key monts, Raki honestly didn't know how she would've managed to keep going.
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